Hunter bunks at his office in DC

Congressman says San Diego remains his home

There are no laws against members of Congress using their offices as living quarters, said officials with the Architect of the Capitol, which oversees the activities on the Capitol campus. Over time though, the practice has gained supporters and detractors.

In Michigan, Rep. Pete Hoekstra’s district office-sleeping was so popular that many constituents expect his successor, Republican Bill Huizenga, to do the same, Huizenga’s office said.

At least one congressional watchdog group says that lawmakers who sleep in their offices are turning House office buildings into frat houses.

“You wouldn’t see that type of behavior at IBM, would you?” said Melanie Sloan, the executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “It’s totally unprofessional.”

According to CREW, The IRS treats lodging as a taxable fringe benefit unless it is offered on the employer’s business premises, is for the employer’s convenience, and is required as a condition of employment.

Sloan noted the utility costs for taxpayers, and she said some members of Congress and their staffers already report the value of their free parking spaces as taxable income.

“If you’re paying taxes to lodge your car, how can you not pay taxes for your lodging?” Sloan said this week.

The group in 2011 asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate the 40 Congress members who slept in their offices. The idea was, by taking free lodging, they might be violating House rules that bar use of taxpayer resources for anything other than the performance of their official duties. Ethics Office records don’t indicate an investigation was launched.

Stanley Brand, the former House General Counsel during the 1980s when bedding down was frowned upon, called office sleeping tacky and unprofessional, but not an extra burden on taxpayers.

“Congress members are entitled to an office,” Brand said. “The fact they convert it into a sleeping space while they are in DC doesn’t add any additional burden on taxpayers.”

Hunter does not see himself changing his living situation any time soon. He does, however, regret one thing about it.

“The hardest part of the job is not having my family there when I am there,” said Hunter, who initially declined to discuss where he sleeps. “But we’ve had some good military training, so the family is used to me being gone for ... periods of time.”

The Watchdog learned about Hunter’s D.C. accommodations during a review of residency for the county’s five congressional delegates. The exercise began after voters booted longtime Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar out of office in May, partly due to revelations during the election that Lugar no longer lived in Indiana.

In order to determine residential status, The Watchdog checked public records, contacted each representatives’ office with a brief questionnaire and visited neighborhoods to get a sense of community roots.

The Watchdog also reviewed living accommodations in D.C. and found that four of the five members — with the exception of Hunter — own a home or condominium that is more valuable than their home in the district.